joshareed
Member
After lurking for a while, I decided to take the plunge and brew and all Brett beer. Now I have a few questions.
I went with a fairly simple recipe:
4.00# Maris Otter
3.00# Light DME
1.00# Wheat DME
0.75# Crystal 120
0.25# Pale Chocolate
1.0oz Cluster @ 60min
0.5oz Cluster @ 30min
0.5oz Cluster @ 0min
I did a 3 day sour mash with the grains (for some sourness and a lower pH). I combined the DME and soured wort at the beginning of the boil.
I decided to use Brett L (WY) and made a big starter on the stir plate that I stepped up over the course of 10 days. I pitched at 70 and have been fermenting at 72 for the last 10 days. So now for my questions:
- any idea how long I can expect fermentation to go for? I'm assuming it is OK or even a good idea to gradually step up the temp to help the Brett finish out?
- with Brett as the primary yeast, is there going to be much flavor development if I let it age in a carboy for a couple months or is the bulk of the flavor done?
- I was thinking of splitting the batch and aging half on fruit. Anyone have suggestions for the type of fruit that works well with the Brett L?
- I was going to bottle the batch. How long would you let it sit with no FG change before you felt confident enough to bottle it? Would you cold crash and add gelatin before to take as much yeast out of suspension as possible?
I think that's about it. TIA.
I went with a fairly simple recipe:
4.00# Maris Otter
3.00# Light DME
1.00# Wheat DME
0.75# Crystal 120
0.25# Pale Chocolate
1.0oz Cluster @ 60min
0.5oz Cluster @ 30min
0.5oz Cluster @ 0min
I did a 3 day sour mash with the grains (for some sourness and a lower pH). I combined the DME and soured wort at the beginning of the boil.
I decided to use Brett L (WY) and made a big starter on the stir plate that I stepped up over the course of 10 days. I pitched at 70 and have been fermenting at 72 for the last 10 days. So now for my questions:
- any idea how long I can expect fermentation to go for? I'm assuming it is OK or even a good idea to gradually step up the temp to help the Brett finish out?
- with Brett as the primary yeast, is there going to be much flavor development if I let it age in a carboy for a couple months or is the bulk of the flavor done?
- I was thinking of splitting the batch and aging half on fruit. Anyone have suggestions for the type of fruit that works well with the Brett L?
- I was going to bottle the batch. How long would you let it sit with no FG change before you felt confident enough to bottle it? Would you cold crash and add gelatin before to take as much yeast out of suspension as possible?
I think that's about it. TIA.